Social media misinformation may be behind teachers' vote for industrial action short of strike, say union reps
Social media misinformation may lie behind teachers’ decision to start industrial action, some unions have suggested.
Starting on Monday (10th), teachers in schools all across Northern Ireland are to begin a course of industrial action that stops short of going on strike.
It comes after they rejected a 5.5% pay deal in a long-running dispute with bosses over wages.
The deal was voted down in part because of a clause that some thought could lead to future industrial action being restricted.
But some unions now say that idea is misinformation that spread on social media.
Speaking to the BBC today, Jacquie White from the Ulster Teachers' Union and Mark McTaggart from the Irish National Teachers' Organisation maintained the tabled deal would not have prevented future strikes.
Mr McTaggart said there had been "misinformation being put out across social media in terms of this deal".
"I would say many members will have seen what was on social media and made a decision based on that," he said.
Ms White added that the unions had trouble getting correct information out to members, not least as the deal went out late last Friday (31st).
“The unions were not in a position to provide clarification, to respond to members' concerns,” she said. “We did put out further information on Saturday and followed it up on Monday.”
But on Thursday evening (6th), an umbrella body representing the five main unions announced that its members had rejected the deal.
Union representatives at that point said they wanted the offer to be only about pay, not any other considerations – and felt that a statement of teachers’ working hours and conditions amounted to “a signal that their employers do not believe that they are currently fulfilling their contractual obligations”, which unions branded “unnecessary and insulting”.
Management representatives described the 5.5% salary boost as “a substantial offer” – and claimed that while unions balloted teachers “solely on the grounds of pay”, management also want to “ensure a sustained period of stability for pupils that is free from industrial action”.
The management side also complained that action short of strikes has been “an almost permanent feature in schools for nearly a decade”, impacting on inspection reports, extra-curricular activities and school improvement planning.
Management side chair, Eve Bremner, said high-ups “cannot accept a position where teachers are not fulfilling their contractual duties”, adding: “It is important that industrial action is only taken as a last resort in any dispute.”
The umbrella group, the Northern Ireland Teachers’ Council (NITC), said they remain committed to engaging in further negotiations in an effort to reach a clear and unrestricted pay award.
NITC vice chair Justin McCamphill, who is also an NASUWT national official, said: “Our members have made clear that the offer as presented to them last week was not acceptable.
“Management side need to draft a pay offer which will meet the legitimate expectations of teachers, action short of strike action will commence on Monday.”
Members of the National Association of Head Teachers voted to accept the pay offer, but the deal isn’t being progressed for head teachers either because the wider NITC body rejected it.